Selection of Fine Works by Famous Artists of Ming and Qing Dynasties: Landscape, Flora, and Fauna

Author: (Ming) Lü Ji
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-01-01
Features: Lü Ji, styled Tingzhen, known as Leyu, was a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang. He was another important representative of the Ming Dynasty court painting school following Lin Liang. He excelled in landscape and figure painting, but was more renowned for his flower-and-bird paintings. During the Hongzhi era, he was recommended to join the imperial painting academy. His style primarily consisted of meticulous and exquisite court painting, while he was also skilled in ink-and-wash flower-and-bird paintings with a mixed brushwork approach. His works were rich and powerful, incorporating the vigorous brushwork and ink variations of Ma Wan and Xia Gui in landscape painting into flower-and-bird paintings. His meticulous style blended with expressive brushwork, further enriching the techniques of flower-and-bird painting. His meticulous brushwork flower-and-bird paintings were brilliant and dazzling, representing the style of court flower-and-bird painting. This "Guju Mountain Birds Painting" depicts blooming chrysanthemums behind cassia trees and lake rocks, with scattered groups of mountain birds on the ground and trees. The painting is meticulous and rich in color, slightly deviating from the Southern Song Dynasty court style. The brushwork is fine, the colors vibrant, with rare birds and famous flowers paired together, exuding a rich and luxurious atmosphere. It is a representative work of his meticulous flower-and-bird paintings.